Welcome To Mystery
by ChillyRilly
Summary: A rather strange and unexpected visit to Wonderland has Alice running around like a madwoman! Then again, doesn't that mean she's in the best place to be in?  Inspired by "Welcome to Mystery" -Plain White T's
1. Goodbye Problems

**Welcome to the first chapter of ****Welcome to Mystery****! It'll be a short one, just letting you know. Basically, the idea for this story came from The Plain White T's song, "Welcome to Mystery". (Gee, I wonder where I got my title from.) If you don't get the familiarity between this story and the song, I'm regretfully sorry and I hope that you'll still read on. :) Thanks for reading!**

** Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Alice In Wonderland NOR of this song.**

. . . . .

"Ugh! Why must everything and everyone here be so trivial?"

Alice groaned and smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. She had just finished another argument about her future with her mother, who was currently walking away with a rather red-looking face. She was standing in the middle of yet _another _party, set for a possible engagement for Helen Kingsleigh's youngest daughter. As if Alice had unexpectedly changed her mind about marriage overnight!

She'd only been back from China for a month and everyone acted as if she had never left. They also attempted to ignore the fact that Alice was a well-ranked business woman. Everyone was still a bit taken aback at her uncommon behavior as a lady, but alas, Alice did not care.

She saw Hamish striding towards her with a grin on his unsightly face, parting through the sea of a dancing crowd. _Oh no. _

Immediately, Alice turned and quickly walked past all the other party-lovers. _Well, to give them some credit, they've never been to a Mad Tea Party. So how would they truly know a good time if they ever saw one?_

"Alice, wait! Stop!" Alice heard Hamish call for her. She was running to the trees now; she knew precisely where she was going. She hadn't thought much of _when_, exactly, she'd return to Wonderland, but she supposed there was never a better time to go than the present.

In the forest, Alice still happened to knew where to go. She turned around a large shrub when she heard Hamish shout for her again. He sounded rather frenzied and he didn't seem to be too far behind. "Stop, Alice! Marry me! Marry me! Stop!" _What a charming way to propose. Chasing down your girl through a forest, screaming like a lady, and sounding pretty much like an extremely desperate man while doing it. Although, it was very likely that he was._

Alice never broke out of her run, not even when she was finally standing in front of a rabbit hole. And not just any rabbit hole- it was _The _Rabbit Hole. Her ticket into Wonderland. She dived right in, hearing one more cry of, "Alice!"

The matchless woman was immediately engulfed in complete and utter darkness. Something was definitely off, indeed. She couldn't hear a piano playing, nor did she feel any objects whizzing past her ears. She was in a tunnel of complete black and for that she was frightened. What if something had gone wrong in Wonderland? What if she wasn't falling into Wonderland at all? What if she was too late and she wasn't about to enter the Round Hall? What if she was taking a plunge to her death, instead?

She visualized her ideal Wonderland, aching for the calm it would bring her. She pictured the colorful flowers and their womanly features, their perfect and elegant petals. She pictured the sky in a million different shades, for that was how many it had. She could just taste the crisp air and how it felt to breath it in. She could hear all the foreign noises of strange and unique creatures that resided in Wonderland. A squawk from a bird with glasses. . . a whinny from a nearby swine. . . a roar from a frumious Bandersnatch. Alice smiled.

The Champion continued to imagine and think about her Wonderland until she looked down below her once again. Whatever she saw seemed brighter and more colorful than it ought to have been. . . She finally realized what it was that had come into view, but it certainly wasn't what she had been expecting at all.

. . . . .

**Insanity: Very short, but you had said that at the beginning.**

** Rachel: Or was it you?**

** Insanity: You what?**

** Rachel: Not me, you. You could've said it.**

** Insanity: Said what?**

** Rachel: To those of you who haven't read ****Alice's Choice****: This little monster of a dialogue will unfortunately pop up at the ending of each and every chapter. Very sorry.**

** ~R & R!~**


	2. Completely Blown Away

**Second chapter to ****Welcome To Mystery****, here we go. :)**

** Disclaimer: I don't own anything of AiW nor of the song.**

. . . . .

"Oomph!" Alice landed none-too-gently on a rose garden. The roses quickly yelled at her to "Move away!" and "Get off, you weed!" They started to prick her with their thorns until she limped out of their garden and down a cobblestone path. She looked around. _This is certainly not the Round Hall._

She was in the garden she had found when she was first here as a child! Slowly, Alice began to remember everything around her. Everything in the garden glistened from the velvet sky above her. There was a shining statue of a fish in armor over there. . . An rather large and irritable Lilly Flower over here. . . Manic birds in the blue treetops around that corner. . .

Everything surrounding her looked so mystical, so colorful and vivid, as if she was standing in a fairytale. The air was incredibly fresh and there was shining dew shimmering in the grass. Alice drew in a large gulp of air and exhaled, smiling. She turned around and came to a stop immediately at what she saw sitting behind her.

"This wasn't here before. . ." she mumbled to herself.

Right in the middle of the cobblestone trail was a gazebo-like shrine. Four gray-stoned columns supported a roof of gold. Thick, green vines were growing along the railings of the shrine. Alice walked up the few steps to enter and gazed at the curious setup before her.

In the center of the shrine stood a simple, wooden table that seemed as old as Time. (It creaked from the lightest of breezes!) On the weak-legged table sat a very large book. It was red with gold-rimmed pages. Alice had to blow on its cover, for there was so much dust upon it.

Alice coughed and waved all the dust away with her hand. Her eyes widened once she processed the title of the book she just _had _to open now.

"The History of Underland. . ." she read aloud, awed.

Very gently and being careful not to tear anything, Alice opened the book. Eyes scanning the pages, her brow furrowed. She flipped through many, hoping the next one would look different from the last. This had to be some type of joke? All the pages were blank! She knew for a fact that her Wonderland had a history; she was a part of it! Plus, she had to take the Oraculum into account. The Oraculum told of each and every day, since the beginning. Absolem had said so himself, and he was wiser than. . . Well, certainly wiser than this sham of a history book.

"This sure is a mystery one would have trouble solving. . ." she said, still staring at the book with disbelieving eyes.

No matter how long she'd glare at it, no change would ever occur. With a disappointed grunt, Alice slammed the book shut. Hard.

She screamed. The moment she had slammed that book, Wonderland started falling apart. Trees were falling and cracks were opening up in the ground. An earthquake in Wonderland? Alice screamed again as a crack emerged from between her feet. She leaped over to the left side of the fracture as the shrine split in two. She grabbed onto a pillar for dear life as she watched The History of Underland fall into a gaping hole. Trailing behind it fell its table.

"Oh dear, oh dear," Alice panicked. When would she fall? Where would she fall to? Why-

Wait one moment! She was better than this, surely! Where was her muchness?

Alice gathered up every little bit of her muchness and took a deep breath. She leaped across the large opening in the shrine and _just _made it to the steps. She heard a noise and looked behind her. All of the shrine had quickly crumbled and fallen in on itself, falling into the unknown below. She ran away from where an elegant landmark had once stood, escaping the dust cloud that followed her.

She had to leap across many cracks and duck under many slanted trees. She passed up the roses who had tried to prick her- who were now shrieking their little petals off. There was nothing she could do for the poor things. If she pulled them out by their roots they would die instantly. She could only hope that they would survive the quake.

"Ouch!" She had stepped on something sharp and had to stop running. She looked down at what she had stepped on. Quizzically, she picked it up and brought it closer to her face for examination.

A broken piece of fine china?

Who had brought their fine china to a garden such as this? And whoever did, where were they now? She hoped her little china-lover wasn't dining down in the dark openings of abyss.

Suddenly, she couldn't see a thing but smoke. She began to cough as she remembered the dust cloud that formed once the shrine collapsed. She gagged and heaved as she began to run again, hoping to escape the smoke soon. Her lungs were having trouble breathing and she couldn't see where she was going. What if she took a wrong step? That could be _the_ fatal step! The last step.

Alice looked around herself in a confused daze. Tears were streaming down from her eyes because of the clouding dust. Alice retched one more time before falling through a newly formed fracture in the ground. She caught the edge of the crack in good time, but it was no use. The earth gave and she screamed one last time. Alice was plummeting to her sure death.

Death? No, not at all.

For where she had landed could never be the location of her afterlife.

. . . . .

**Insanity: Oh, dear. Where is Alice? Is she injured? Who is she with **_**now**_**?**

** Rachel: Tune in next time to find out. ;)**


	3. Headache

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything of AiW nor of the song.**

. . . . .

Alice landed on something hard, groaning. _There's a bruise for the morning._

She slowly opened her eyes and looked around her, wide-eyed and confused. She was in a wonderful, beautiful room worthy of total admiration. The gorgeous room was accommodated with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and fine vases sitting on antique tables all around. The lighting was dim and made the wooden floor shine. Alice looked down to see what she had fallen on to discover that she was sitting on a throne.

She would've jumped off immediately (for she did _not _want to upset or offend the owner of the throne- she had already met one Red Queen and she didn't want to meet another of the same like of royalty) except, for some strange, unknown reason, she felt like she was supposed to be sitting there. She felt a surge of authority resting in that seat of power. Alice sat up straight and looked down at the people kneeling before her. (_Had they been there before?_)

They were obviously poor; they were all covered in grime and dressed in tattered clothing. There must of been twenty of them, at the least. They were all on their knees, bowing down to Alice. She looked over and focused on one of the kneelers in particular. He couldn't have been more than seven.

"Oh, thank you, Your Highness! Your Magnificence!" One old man exclaimed. "Thank you, thank you, _thank you_!"

Alice's brow furrowed. What exactly had she done to deserve such praise?

"Your kindness _exceeds _ours by far!" A woman cried.

"Freedom is certainly the best gift of all!" The young boy shouted in awe.

Ah. Freedom. Of course! Alice had granted her people freedom. Which was very kind of her, Alice had to admit. She couldn't remember exactly when she had done so-or how she had even come into power-but she was proud that she had made her people content and appreciative. Although, she was beginning to wonder just how long their praise would take. Surely Alice had some Queen-like duties to perform?

"Freedom! Oh, the great and ever-powerful pleasance of freedom!"

"I am free to do whatever I shall please? Oh, Your Kindly One! You are too much!"

"I simply don't know how to thank you to the right extent!"

All their admiration was very nice, but it was starting to stress Alice. Their declarations of thankfulness began to increase in volume to an ear-aching degree. Slowly, all her civilians rose from their positions and crept closer to Alice. Their shouts continued to get louder.

"Oh, THANK YOU, Your Majesty!" a woman screamed.

"SO WONDERFUL!" another shrieked.

"SPLENDID!" The young boy she had recognized earlier had the loudest voice at all. He had reached Alice's throne at this point. The boy placed his hands on her armrest and didn't seem to notice when Alice narrowed his eyes at him and scooted farther back in her seat.

"LOVELY!"

"SO ADMIRABLE!"

"A FANTASTIC DEED!"

"Please move back," she told her people. They couldn't hear her. "Please, move back!" Alice said, more shrill now. They were ignoring her! Ignoring their Queen! Her people were inducing a rebellion! _How dare they?_

Alice leapt from her throne with a fierce look on her face, preparing to shout for her Guards. The expression quickly went away, though, when she was no longer in contact with her throne. She looked back at it, confused. _Her _throne?

That was simply _a_ throne. Why would it be hers? She shook her head. She didn't have time to mull over the change that just overtook her. These people were coming at her, and fast.

"MY QUEEN!" One man tried to grab at Alice, but she leaned back on her heels with perfect time. She turned from the crowd of dazed and violent people and leapt over her throne, which was now flanked by all sides. She landed on the floor with a thud, almost falling flat on her face.

Suddenly, the entire group of people starting screaming at her, all at once.

"YOUR HIGNESS!"

"YOUR BRILLIANCY!"

"THANK YOU, LOVED ONE!"

"WE MUST HAVE YOU!"

Quite frankly, that last chant scared her a bit. The crowd was shouting in unison and was truly starting to scare Alice. It was all too much! She was so confused! It was all too stressful. _What to do! What to do! _She didn't know what to do! Where was she, anyway? What was this building? Alice wasn't a Queen! She didn't have Guards! She couldn't be a Queen! What was she-

_POP!_

"Ow!" Alice cried.

She prepared to put her hands over hear ears, fearing they had popped, when she heard little scurrying sounds coming from below her. Alice looked down and gasped.

Strangest. Sight. Ever.

Alice's _brain _was running away from her! Somehow, the little thing was sprinting across the wooden floor and through a shining doorway.

Now, normally Alice would've considered the abnormality of the entire situation. But you must remember-_she had just lost her mind._ Literally. So, Alice lifted up her skirts and ran across the floor, chasing her mind to wherever it was planning on taking her. If it was planning on anything specific, at all. Right now, it looked like it was just trying to get away from any type of human life. Including Alice.

_Which is incredibly stupid, I'd say, _thought Alice. _I mean, whenever I am away from my manor and felling out of myself, I feel the need to go home. I don't believe my mind has ever left my brain before, so it must be terribly confused and wanting to return home. Which is my head. So, why is it running from home?_

_ She had taken good care of it, surely! She taught it many things, gave it several things to remember. . . Why was it running away!_

Oh, she was thinking true nonsense now! She needed her brain back, and she needed it now!

Alice was still chasing her brain, back in the same garden as before. She must've been in a separate part of the garden, though, because everything was still intact and the atmosphere was calm. Except for the mad girl running after her mind, of course.

Just when Alice thought she'd catch her mind, she felt a terrible force knock her over. She looked up to see who had pushed her, seeing nothing. Confused, Alice looked up into the sky and gasped.

A tornado!

(A small part of her brain, although still running away from the scene, took note that even though Alice had only been in Wonderland for a short time, there had already been two natural disasters.)

Alice ran to find shelter, for she could see the actual tornado now. It was an off-green color and was twirling with an outstanding speed. It turned the velvet skies to gray and the exotic plants below to shreds. Large stones were thrown all about and Alice had to cling on to a tree for life.

Alice groaned. She had just watched her brain get picked up from the winds and tossed much too far away for Alice to ever find it again. It must've gone over the bloody mountains!

The tornado headed straight for Alice. She didn't really know what to do except to hang tight onto her tree. There was nothing to hide in or under; she was stuck right where she was.

The closer the tornado got, the stronger the wind whipped her hair around her face and the more goose bumps formed on her arms. She gritted her teeth as her nails dug deep into the tree's bark.

No matter how tight she clung on, she could not match the tornado's strength and willpower. Letting out an ear-piercing scream, Alice was thrown from the tree and into the sky. She got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as her throw turned into a death-calling free fall.

Alice looked around for something to get a hold on. She spotted a pink house just below her. She formed a plan in her empty head and hoped that it wasn't _too _stupid. How was she to know? She had no brain!

Wincing because of the pain that was to come, Alice nearly fell past the house's window. Just in time, Alice fingers grabbed onto the windowsill. Alice shrieked in pain at the blunt impact, trying hard not to let go. She hoped someone in the house would have heard her yell and come to her aid, but alas, no one was coming for her.

And Alice didn't exactly have the time to sit there and wait. One: raging tornado. Two: the strength in her arms wasn't too great at the moment. Quickly, Alice pulled herself up and leaned in over the sill. She tumbled in (none too gracefully) and caught her breath. When she realized that the wind was still fierce enough to give her chills, she jumped up and slammed the window shut.

Alice sighed. At this point, all she wanted was a nice cup of tea.

. . . . .

**Insanity: Oooooooh a longer chapter. ;)**

** Rachel: Yes, it obviously is. FYI- this is an extremely short story. (You'll all know why at the very end.) I always plan out my chapters, so I can tell you with a definite 'yes' that this thing will have 5 chapters. So. Two more to go.**

** Insanity: Splendid.**

** Rachel: Very.**


	4. Unappetizing Meal

** Disclaimer: I don't own anything of AiW nor of the song or band or yadayadayada...**

. . . . .

Alice turned around to find herself in a room the size of a closet. It was completely bare, but on the opposite side of her was a descending staircase. Seeing no other option, for she certainly wasn't going outside again anytime soon, she climbed down the stairs.

It must've been a fairly large staircase-she had already been going down it for a full five minutes. _How curious, _she thought. _The building didn't seem this large when I first entered. Then again, I was falling from the sky and I had launched myself in through the upstairs window. I wouldn't be surprised if my perspective is a tad off for a while._

Finally, Alice heard some commotion from the bottom of the stairs. She couldn't be too far from the landing now. She heard loud, obnoxious giggles and hoots. There was the clattering of dishes and forks on plates. All the voices belonged to women and it sounded as if there was a great many of them.

"Oh, _do _tell!" she heard one exclaim, procuring another round of shrill giggles.

Alice finally reached the end of the staircase and took a glance at the party going on before her.

There was a single table set up that took up the full length of the yellow-tiled room. There were no windows and was only one door, leading outside. There was an end table standing near Alice with a vase of red roses on it. Looking around, Alice noticed that the room was a practical jungle! There were dozens of cracks in the ceiling and walls. They couldn't have been made from the very recent earthquake-these already had foliage growing in from the outdoors. Alice probably couldn't have walked across the room without tripping over a vine, root, or branch. Each vine she saw had an assortment of roses growing on it. The whole room smelled of roses and. . . something else.

Horrendously loud laughter drew Alice's attention back to the table.

There couldn't have been more than ten girls sitting at the extensive table. They all seemed to be around Alice's age, but they were positively more gussied up than Alice had ever been in her entire life. They each had about twenty pounds of makeup and powder smothered on their faces and their corsets were tied so fixed that she had no clue as to how they were breathing. Alice would've fainted on spot!

Alice's brow furrowed when she saw what they were eating. Bacon. And only bacon. (The scent of the roses and bacon together did not create a justified aroma.) There was a single large platter of bacon in the center of the table. The women were picking at the pile of cooked pork with forks, stuffing it into their mouths like savages. Each time one smacked their lips, Alice grimaced from disgust. Granted, she wasn't too lady-like, but surely she had never behaved like _that _at supper! They didn't even use the fine china that was set before them!

. . . . .

Fine china?

One lady, a bonneted brunette with an exceedingly larger chest, noticed Alice at the bottom of the stairs. She thankfully swallowed her bacon before smirking at her. "Oi, look at this one! An uninvited guest!" All the girls giggled and whispered to each other, holding their hands in front of their mouths as if Alice was oblivious to what they were doing. "Well, come, come! Sit!" She barked. She jabbed her thumb at the very far end of the table where an empty chair sat.

It was quite a walk to the opposite end of the table. She felt everyone's eyes trained on her as she sat down stiffly. Although she tried to not look at anything in particular, no one else was being too obscure about staring intently at her.

Still with everyone glaring at her, the brunette spoke to her again. She appeared to be the hostess of the gathering. "So, girl, what is your name?"

She cleared her throat and put her hands in her lap. "Alice," she said. "My name is Alice."

And she thought the ladies were acting obnoxiously before? Now they were practically jumping up and out of their seats! They were throwing their hands in the air and gabbing at each other a something fiercely. The lady at the front was the only one who remained calm.

"Alice, Alice. . ." she murmured, speaking to no specific person. "Now, where have I heard that name before. . .?"

One girl, a blonde dressed in pink, decided to make herself known. "Alice is the Champion of Underland!" she chirped.

The hostess's eyes widened. "Why, Butterdear, I believe you are correct!" The hostess turned her eyes to Alice. She could have misheard her, but Alice could've sworn she heard her mumble, "I would've thought that the girl would've grown into that head of hers by now. . ." Then she grinned at her. "Honorable Alice, welcome back to Underland. I am the Duchess, and these are my misses." All the girls smiled and waved daintily at her. "What brings you back to our wonderful land?"

"Well," she said. "I had just gotten back from a trip I'd taken back in my former world-"

A woman bedecked in purple jewels belched and waved her hand in front of her face. "Will someone pass the pork?" With that said, the madness began again. Bacon was tossed from side to side and forks flew through air. It was as if ten March Hare's were in the room! Alice had to duck to avoid one plate that was thrown in her direction. She heard a clatter and crash behind her and Alice gasped to see the fine china shattered into a million pieces on the floor behind her.

The broken shards of the fine china reminded Alice of the broken dish she had found earlier in the garden before the tornado had swept her into the air. "Excuse me?" Alice asked. The chaos continued. She cleared her throat and increased her volume. "Excuse me!" Did the pandemonium cease? No. Alice sneered and pounded her fist on the table, rattling all the unused dishes. "Excuse me!" She barked.

Everyone silenced and looked at her, bacon hanging from their mouths. "I was just wondering," Alice started, "if you were dining in the garden earlier today? I found a shard of fine china that looks like it could've come from these. There was a tornado there, shortly after the earthquake. . . "

The Duchess swallowed her bacon and narrowed her eyes, nodding. "Yes, we were. The storm smoked us right out, though. Why else do you think we'd be stuffed in here?" She chomped off a chunk of her bacon slice. She continued to speak despite the lack of room in her mouth. "What's it to you?"

Alice swallowed. _Alice, you've been stuck with a group of naive, bigheaded girls before. This isn't much different from the last time. _"I was simply curious, is all." Quickly, Alice thought of a new topic to discuss before all the ladies dived back into their bacon. Although, if they enjoyed bacon so much, surely they'd like to talk about it? "You know, that bacon looks mouth-watering. Where _did _you get it?"

Every single expression brightened. It was the Duchess's look that frightened her. The woman grinned menacingly at Alice. "Oh, thank you, Alice. I made it."

All the girls smiled and exclaimed how brilliant the Duchess was at cooking bacon. "The Duchess's bacon is the best in all the land!"

"Her bacon is simply scrumptious!"

"This bacon is amazing!"

So on and so on. "Where did you get the bacon?" Alice asked Duchess.

That evil grin was still glued onto her face. "Did you know that I used to be a mother, Alice?"

Her brow furrowed. "Err, yes, I believe I recall you having a small child when I had first come to Wonderland."

The Duchess nodded. "Indeed." She picked up a piece of bacon and threw it in her mouth. "And I had to go run an errand, you remember. But alas, I needed a babysitter. You were kind enough to help me out, little Champion."

"And then. . ." Alice tried to remember what happened next. It wasn't the fact that the event had occurred in Wonderland, she was just very little when she had first arrived. "Oh! Then the child had sneezed so much that it turned into a pig." Alice nodded, content with her long-off memory.

Alice's brow furrowed. "Wait. . ." She looked down at the table, the Duchess smiling at her as recognition finally broke through her clouded mind (although she still hadn't found it). Alice's eyes locked on the large platter of bacon. She gasped.

"That was your child!" Alice stood up from her chair, eyes wide with a mix of shock and repulsion.

The Duchess laughed at her, bacon falling from her mouth and onto her empty plate. "Oh, don't ever get too attached to things, my dear." Alice gaped at her. "Besides," she added, "He kept whining and crying and boo hoo, boo hoo. So, I could only hope that he tasted better than he behaved." She chomped on another piece of pork. "And may I just say that he certainly does!"

Alice didn't know what to say. No matter how much her child whined or cried, she'd never _ever _cook, bake, grill, or fry it. That was for certain.

One lady in a green cap pointed at her and giggled. "Look at her face! It's practically priceless!"

Alice shook her head as every girl but the Duchess laughed at her. The Duchess was still grinning, ripping a piece of pork in half.

"Look at that mess of hair! Doesn't she own a brush?"

"I doubt she knows what a brush _is_!"

"And her face! What's wrong with her face?"'

"I have no clue, yet I'm looking right at her!"

"Not much of a Champion, is she?"

Alice was used to harsh treatment and being talked about like she was hard of hearing, but this was just awful! The girls went on and on about how unsuitable Alice looked and how much of a shock it was that she was the true Champion of Underland. Alice could take it no longer. She turned on her heels and stormed out of the door, yet she didn't hear it slam behind her.

Alice kept moving.

. . . . .

** Insanity: . . . Bacon. Really? Bacon?**

** Rachel: You'd only get that if you had ever read ****Alice's Adventures in Wonderland****. If not, you're clueless about the whole bacon and Duchess issue.**

** Insanity: Ohhhhhhh. I gotcha.**


	5. Come and Visit Me

**Last chapter! Told you guys it would be a short one. I really just did this one for pure fun. :) Thank you for reading!**

** Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Alice in Wonderland nor of the song.**

**. . . . .**

Alice strode through the house's gate quickly, wanting to be rid of the memory of her speaking with that cannibalistic Duchess and her shrill, little leaches of friends. They didn't act none too ladylike, oreven mildly polite for that manner!

With clenched fists at her sides, Alice sighed, passing a gnarled tree and entering a crooked-looking forest. All she wanted was to see a familiar (and kind) face to cheer her up. She didn't even remember ever being in these dark woods! Perhaps this was where she had first met Tweedledee and Tweedledum. . . ? No, no, those woods and trees had been more scattered. Here, you wouldn't be able to tell left from right if you wandered too far from the narrow trail of dirt.

Alice heard the crunch of a snapped twig and quickly turned around, seeing no one there. _Very curious. . . _she thought.

She looked forward and continued to walk. Walking to whom or what she did not know.

Another sickening snap caused Alice to turn her head. She could've sworn she had heard a low chuckle.

Becoming a bit paranoid, presumably, Alice turned and broke into a light run, just wanting to get away from her current location. If she was able to get out of these woods, she could see more of the surrounding area and see more clearly-

"Hee hee, look at her!"

Alice gasped and looked at her left, yet seeing nothing. She leaped into a full-on sprint, her fear coming about. She ran and jumped over a fallen log, stumbling a bit on the landing. A whole jeering of giggles and maniacal laughter let loose on her as Alice steadied herself and continued to run.

She looked behind her, at both her sides, and even squinted to see far ahead, but she couldn't find the ones who taunted her! Another low laugh erupted from directly behind her, raising the hairs on the back of her neck.

Alice sprinted forward, dashing behind a tree for a moment to catch her breath. She rested there for a moment, closing her eyes and reveling in the silence. She leaned against the rough bark and placed her hands on her knees, rasping for air. She wiped some sweat off from above her brow and let out a mouthful of air, opening her eyes.

She was face to face with a large-beaked bird with red eyeglasses. Alice screamed and hit the back of her head against the tree. "Ow!" She rubbed the sore spot on her head and narrowed her eyes as the bird laughed in her face. "That's not funny! Not at all!"

"Oh, I believe it is!" He squawked. Alice stood up, trying to regain her confidence.

"Were you chasing me?"

The bird's laughter finally died down as he raised an eyebrow at her. "Me? No, not one of the many following you. But I must say, I _was _one of the even many more who were enjoying the show."

Alice narrowed her eyes even further. "Well, could you tell them all to leave me alone? I'm trying to get. . . somewhere."

"Oh, well you're sure to achieve that as long as you walk along far enough." The bird suddenly grinned, showing off his many sharp, red-tinged teeth. "As long as you live long enough."

Alice gasped and tried to step back, forgetting the tree that sat behind her. "What?" she breathed. She edged along the trunk of the tree until she was standing in the center of the trail once again. The bird followed her.

"Run, little girl," he commanded. "Run."

Dreamlike, Alice nodded before breaking into her sprint once again. As soon as her foot took the first step, the fanatical laughing and wicked taunts begun again.

"Odd girl, always doing the different," one rasped.

"Only to _be_ different," one hissed menacingly.

"Stupid girl!" another scoffed.

"Stop it!" Alice placed her hands over her ears, but it didn't help one bit. The voices seemed to be in her head! She couldn't get them out! _She wanted them out! No matter how familiar they sounded!_

"Whine, whine, whine! Whine, whine, whine!"

"Step up, girl! Be a Champion!"

"Come find us! Come to us!" one urged.

"Be true and find us again!"

Alice pulled her hands away and ran faster than she ever had before. She saw light! She finally found a lightened opening at the end of the forest! She imagined that as soon as she parted from this dark forest, the voices would disappear with it. "Almost there now, Alice! Got to keep moving!" she told herself.

"Come back to us, Alice!"

"Return!"

Alice shook her head, trying to clear it. She wouldn't listen to them! They were tricking her!

"She can't possibly be _the_ Alice! She continues to run, the foolish thing!" a voice squeaked.

"She is, I know it," one lisped.

Alice gasped and her running stopped, just short of the exit of the woods. She looked around her, wide-eyed with realization. Those familiar yet harsh-sounding voices. . . No matter how rash the words they uttered were, the voices themselves were known to her.

They were the voices of her friends.

"Oh, stop running! You're going the wrong way!" a voice purred.

"She's _**not**_Alice!" another shrieked.

Alice sobbed once and tried to run from the voices again, but her imperceptible attempt just caused her to trip on a rock and fall onto her side. She curled into a ball as the certain voices of her friends swarmed her, demanding for her attention. "Not real," she whispered. "Not real, not real. . ."

"Stand up!" a voice yelled at her. Alice wound her arms around her chest more tightly.

"Come on, now! Up!" Alice shook her head.

"Get up!" "Get up!" "Get up!"

"I can't. . ." Alice whimpered. "I'm stuck."

All the voices ceased at once, except for one. One voice, in the saddest tone of all, spoke to her. "Well then. . . " it said. "Fairfarren."

"NO!" Alice sat up straight as everything around her vanished.

"Alice, dear, calm down! I swear, you were sleeping like the dead! I would've thought you were if you hadn't been screaming and thrashing about in your sleep!"

Alice blinked once, confused, and finally looked around her.

She was lying down. On a soft blue couch. In her den in London. Her mother was standing behind her with a mixed expression of concern, amusement, and scorn. "Really, Alice, we have to leave for the Ascots' party soon. You've gotten wrinkles all over your dress!" Her mother sighed.

"We're going to the Ascots?" Alice asked.

"Yes, Alice, we're going." Her mother looked at her strangely. "Are you feeling alright?"

Slowly, Alice smiled. "I will be soon, mother," She stood up and made way for the door. "I will be."

**. . . . .**

** Insanity: Taaa daaaa! The end. Finish. **

** Rachel: Really short, so it doesn't feel like much of an accomplishment. But oh well! Cheesey endings can turn a foul one into a happy one!**

** Insanity: Yes, a word to the wise: Make everything seem like an accomplishment!**

**. . . . . **

**(: Thank you for reading. :)**


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